Mental Health has become an increasingly important issue to talk about. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM for short, covers all existing mental health disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. Since 1952, the number of mental disorders recognized by the manual has grown from 106 to 297.
My interest is less in the stratification of new disorders and their modernized definitions but in the correlation between existing mental health problems and increased technology in the early years of a child's growth. The applications for technology have been exponential in even my own life where I am required to juggle many different tasks and communicate with others over a wide range of media. I know this was simply not the experience of my parents or of those before them who enjoyed most of their lives without such devices and am curious, what might be the ramifications of these advancements?
There are children’s apps for the iPad that simulate vocabulary and simple math games but are they really as effective at teaching and leaving an impression as another human? Is it even feasible to raise a child without exposing them to the information overload of the internet? I can also imagine parents might feel an obligation to equip their child as they will need to be accustomed to using new technologies throughout their schooling and careers. I have found credible sources such as psychologytoday.com that offer a plethora of articles written by doctors and psychologists that will be helpful in understanding these questions.
At what point does the synergy between technology and humanity become less of an advantage and more destructive by altering behavioral patterns? Is it more beneficial to use active technology such as social media or video games compared to passive viewing like watching television?
"green hill country" by Ted Nasmith
The exploratory journey begins.
This is such an interesting topic. I think you hit the nail on the head when you say that we have to use a variety of different media to interact through and it usually is a requirement. Like this course for example!
ReplyDeleteThose apps for kids are used in schools, at home, and sometimes even the drive from school to home! I run a large childcare center and I limit my teachers to only 15 minutes a day using videos or games on the computer. I think it is important for those children to be exposed to technology, but an overload isn't good.
I am interested on what effects you find about the amount of technology these children are accustomed to! It did raise a couple of other questions for me, do you think there are studies about the difference between the generations in the past with limited technology against the younger generations about their relationships and their success? I would be interested in researching that for sure!
I would like to say that I believe that too much technology is not a good thing, but that it is necessary to expose children to the technology to ensure that they are successful in the future because as we all know... technology is everywhere. I believe there is a very fine line between just enough and too much exposure.
I am very excited to continue to read your blog.
Thank you,
Anna McCullough
What I find interesting about this topic is how mental health has increased with increased technology use. Maybe with so little technology used back in the day there was less pressure from social media platforms or the overwhelming feeling of responding to everyone using different applications. We can add on as to how different children are to those that live on countrysides with little to no technology exposure. Are they living better lives? It's is quite tough to side on one end or the other on this topic because technology use in regards to children can have both a positive and negative affect. It can either be a big distraction or can be useful as a learning aid. Children don't just magically appear with an iPad. The parent is the one who controls whether they get one and what sort of content will be available to the child.
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